Kaouther Ben Hania, a Tunisian director, studied cinema in Tunis (EDAC) and in Paris (Fémis and Sorbonne-Nouvelle Paris 3 University).
She has directed several short films including Peau de Colle/ Wooden Hand (2013), which has been selected in several international festivals and has won several awards (Tanit d'or at the Carthage Film Festival, Audience Award – CINEMED Montpellier 2013, Audience Award – Leiden International Short Film Festival (Netherlands).
Her documentary Les Imams vont à l'école/ Imams Go to School has been unveiled at IDFA 2010 in official competition.
Le Challat de Tunis/ Challat of Tunis, her first feature film, opened the ACID section of the Cannes Film Festival in 2014 and has been an international success both in festivals and cinemas.
She then directed ZAINEB N'AIME PAS LA NEIGE/ Zaineb Hates the snow, a feature-length documentary film shot over a period of six years between Tunisia and Canada, which has been revealed in 2016 in the official selection at the Locarno International Film Festival. It has subsequently won the TANIT D'OR at the Carthage Film Festival, the BEST DOC prize at the CINEMED festival in Montpellier...
Her film LA BELLE EST LA MEUTE/Beauty and the Dogs has been selected in official competition at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival in the UN CERTAIN REGARD category, where it has won the prize for best sound creation. This film has been distributed in a dozen countries.
Her latest film The Man Who Sold His Skin/L'homme qui a vendu sa peau, selected at the 2020 Venice Film Festival (Best Actor Award) is nominated for the Oscar for "Best International Film" at the 93rd Academy Awards in 2021.